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We're celebrating 50 brilliant UK independent bookshops. If your favourite is missing, please add it to the list below...
In Neil Gaiman’s preface to Shelf Life: Fantastic Stories Celebrating Bookstores, he describes four bookshops from his childhood. One was a travelling school shop, one a local store staffed by a helpful hippy where he’d pick up 25p Tom Disch novels, another was a bus ride away and owned by a Grinch who’d glower at schoolchildren customers, and the last was a now-defunct Soho sci-fi and fantasy treasure trove. Four individual shops run by booksellers with distinct personalities and idiosyncratic tastes. All of which made Gaiman what he is.
That’s the joy of independent bookshops. Their personalities shape those of the people who visit them. They’re not homogenous. Their stock tends to reflect their passions rather than the year's best-performing unit-shifters. And their...
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We're celebrating 50 brilliant UK independent bookshops. If your favourite is missing, please add it to the list below...
In Neil Gaiman’s preface to Shelf Life: Fantastic Stories Celebrating Bookstores, he describes four bookshops from his childhood. One was a travelling school shop, one a local store staffed by a helpful hippy where he’d pick up 25p Tom Disch novels, another was a bus ride away and owned by a Grinch who’d glower at schoolchildren customers, and the last was a now-defunct Soho sci-fi and fantasy treasure trove. Four individual shops run by booksellers with distinct personalities and idiosyncratic tastes. All of which made Gaiman what he is.
That’s the joy of independent bookshops. Their personalities shape those of the people who visit them. They’re not homogenous. Their stock tends to reflect their passions rather than the year's best-performing unit-shifters. And their...
- 6/10/2016
- Den of Geek
I’ve heard it said that old friends are the best friends. That makes sense to me. Over time, you’ve shared experiences together, both good and bad. You’ve grown to know each other, to know the little idiosyncrasies that make up who we are, that make the bonds between us.
You can form that kind of relationships with books as well, especially series. The first time you read the book, it’s to discover the story, to learn what happens next. As you return to it, or read another book in the series, it’s because you want to revisit them.
For example, for me every new book in The Number One Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith is like a new visit with old friends. I know the characters, the main ones and the wide supporting cast as well, and I want to learn what...
You can form that kind of relationships with books as well, especially series. The first time you read the book, it’s to discover the story, to learn what happens next. As you return to it, or read another book in the series, it’s because you want to revisit them.
For example, for me every new book in The Number One Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith is like a new visit with old friends. I know the characters, the main ones and the wide supporting cast as well, and I want to learn what...
- 5/1/2016
- by John Ostrander
- Comicmix.com
For this week’s column I’m going to talk about two books that I’ve read recently, both of which I enjoyed although they are vastly dissimilar. The books are The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith (published by Pantheon) and Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson (published by Delacorte Press). Both of them are series books: the former is the fourteenth and latest in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and the latter is the first in a planned Reckoners series.
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series takes place in Botswana, which is in southern Africa, and the series follows the agency’s founder, Mma Precious Ramotswe and her friends, family, and co-workers as she solves small mysteries. Nothing is huge in these novels – the main mystery of the new book is about someone who is slandering the owner of the beauty salon in the title – but its very warm.
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series takes place in Botswana, which is in southern Africa, and the series follows the agency’s founder, Mma Precious Ramotswe and her friends, family, and co-workers as she solves small mysteries. Nothing is huge in these novels – the main mystery of the new book is about someone who is slandering the owner of the beauty salon in the title – but its very warm.
- 12/8/2013
- by John Ostrander
- Comicmix.com
Director Jamie Chambers wants his film, screening at this year's Edinburgh film festival, to be more than an elegy for the nation's oral tradition of singing and storytelling
Home advantages don't come much stronger than the one the new Scottish film Blackbird will have when it screens this week at the Edinburgh film festival. It isn't just that the picture's writer-director, Jamie Chambers, was born and raised in the city, or that he is artistic director of Transgressive North, a community of Scottish artists that has collaborated with the likes of Irvine Welsh, Jarvis Cocker, Alexander McCall Smith and Four Tet. Nor is it merely that this movie, inspired partly by Powell and Pressburger's Hebridean romance I Know Where I'm Going!, will be vying for the prestigious Michael Powell award. The very subject of Blackbird is Scotland – specifically, the oral tradition of singing and storytelling. Despite initiatives to keep that tradition alive,...
Home advantages don't come much stronger than the one the new Scottish film Blackbird will have when it screens this week at the Edinburgh film festival. It isn't just that the picture's writer-director, Jamie Chambers, was born and raised in the city, or that he is artistic director of Transgressive North, a community of Scottish artists that has collaborated with the likes of Irvine Welsh, Jarvis Cocker, Alexander McCall Smith and Four Tet. Nor is it merely that this movie, inspired partly by Powell and Pressburger's Hebridean romance I Know Where I'm Going!, will be vying for the prestigious Michael Powell award. The very subject of Blackbird is Scotland – specifically, the oral tradition of singing and storytelling. Despite initiatives to keep that tradition alive,...
- 6/27/2013
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
This is the time of year when all manner of people and media post their best/worst selections of the year. The main purpose is to elicit outrage or agreement or bewilderment regarding the selections. Anyone can play. So I guess I will with these caveats. I’m not saying that what follows is the best of any the categories. It’s simply what I most enjoyed. Some books, TV shows, music, movies I simply didn’t experience (e.g. Argo and The Hobbit) or didn’t enjoy as much as those listed (i.e. the latest Dresden book, The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spider-Man). I’m only touching on what was new in 2012 – not those things I’ve enjoyed from other years and enjoyed again in 2012.
Caveats away. Let’s get down to it.
Doctor Who: The mid-season finale didn’t please me as much as I hoped.
Caveats away. Let’s get down to it.
Doctor Who: The mid-season finale didn’t please me as much as I hoped.
- 12/30/2012
- by John Ostrander
- Comicmix.com
Acclaimed author Alexander McCall Smith has discussed his contribution towards a project to bring the joys of literature to young refugees with the help of Unhcr.
The novelist has become one of 18 acclaimed authors helping to ensure that children living in refugee camps can also enjoy the pleasures of reading. The writers have each contributed a short story to a collection entitled “What You Wish For” and organized by the Book Wish Foundation. All of the proceeds will be donated to Unhcr to build libraries in camps housing more than quarter-of-a-million refugees displaced by the conflict in Darfur.
McCall Smith, who is best known for “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” spoke recently with Unhcr’s Laura Padoan about “The Strange Story of Bobby Box,” his contribution to the collection, and why he believes that books are vital to our well-being. Excerpts from the interview:
Read more...
The novelist has become one of 18 acclaimed authors helping to ensure that children living in refugee camps can also enjoy the pleasures of reading. The writers have each contributed a short story to a collection entitled “What You Wish For” and organized by the Book Wish Foundation. All of the proceeds will be donated to Unhcr to build libraries in camps housing more than quarter-of-a-million refugees displaced by the conflict in Darfur.
McCall Smith, who is best known for “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” spoke recently with Unhcr’s Laura Padoan about “The Strange Story of Bobby Box,” his contribution to the collection, and why he believes that books are vital to our well-being. Excerpts from the interview:
Read more...
- 7/8/2011
- Look to the Stars
A couple of weeks ago, I sent the following message to this year's Cannonballers:
Now that summer is here (yes, I know not technically, but as far as I'm concerned summer begins when June does), I am thinking that it would be good to have a theme for some of the Cbr posts this summer: Summer Reads. I don't know about you, but summer vacations-especially when I go to the beach-are when I have some of my best opportunities to finally make a dent in my reading list. And I often make a trip to the library before heading out on vacation. I'd like to be able to give the Pajibans a bunch of recommendations as they may be looking to add to their summer reading lists.
Of course to do this, I need your help. I would like you to send me links to any reviews you've written for...
Now that summer is here (yes, I know not technically, but as far as I'm concerned summer begins when June does), I am thinking that it would be good to have a theme for some of the Cbr posts this summer: Summer Reads. I don't know about you, but summer vacations-especially when I go to the beach-are when I have some of my best opportunities to finally make a dent in my reading list. And I often make a trip to the library before heading out on vacation. I'd like to be able to give the Pajibans a bunch of recommendations as they may be looking to add to their summer reading lists.
Of course to do this, I need your help. I would like you to send me links to any reviews you've written for...
- 6/27/2011
- by Tamatha Uhmelmahaye
This week's news in the arts
Private detectives may usually work in, well, private – but their shady shenanigans have this week been thrust into the limelight. On Tuesday, the News of the World apologised to actor Sienna Miller for having paid detective Glenn Mulcaire to intercept her phone calls. Yesterday, it was alleged that detective Jonathan Rees had targeted Tony Blair and Kate Middleton on behalf of News International.
Entirely coincidentally, a private investigator has loomed large on the small screen this week: Case Histories, the BBC six-parter drawn from Kate Atkinson's bestselling thriller, stars Jason Isaacs as Jackson Brodie, police officer turned Pi and classic tough-nut-with-a-heart. Brodie doesn't tap phones, but he does spend a lot of time running around with his top off. It's the sort of detective work pioneered by Tom Selleck in the 1980s: his Magnum, Pi sported a series of daringly navel-grazing Hawaiian print shirts.
Private detectives may usually work in, well, private – but their shady shenanigans have this week been thrust into the limelight. On Tuesday, the News of the World apologised to actor Sienna Miller for having paid detective Glenn Mulcaire to intercept her phone calls. Yesterday, it was alleged that detective Jonathan Rees had targeted Tony Blair and Kate Middleton on behalf of News International.
Entirely coincidentally, a private investigator has loomed large on the small screen this week: Case Histories, the BBC six-parter drawn from Kate Atkinson's bestselling thriller, stars Jason Isaacs as Jackson Brodie, police officer turned Pi and classic tough-nut-with-a-heart. Brodie doesn't tap phones, but he does spend a lot of time running around with his top off. It's the sort of detective work pioneered by Tom Selleck in the 1980s: his Magnum, Pi sported a series of daringly navel-grazing Hawaiian print shirts.
- 6/8/2011
- by Laura Barnett
- The Guardian - Film News
Ricky Gervais will do a second comedy special for HBO at the end of this year.
"Ricky Gervais: Out of England 2" will tape Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 in Chicago, and the special will air in December. The show is a followup to his Emmy-nominated 2008 special, "Out of England."
"In my first HBO special I covered AIDS, disability, bestiality, rape, racism and famine," Gervais says. "This second special is a little darker."
HBO also has a second season of the animated "Ricky Gervais Show" on its schedule for next year.
- A documentary about Bruce Springsteen's followup to "Born to Run" will debut on HBO in October.
"The Promise: The Making of 'Darkness on the Edge of Town'" will premiere Oct. 7. The film chronicles Springsteen and the E Street Band during the recording and shaping of the album, the first album after his breakout hit "Born to Run."
Springsteen and Thom Zimny,...
"Ricky Gervais: Out of England 2" will tape Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 in Chicago, and the special will air in December. The show is a followup to his Emmy-nominated 2008 special, "Out of England."
"In my first HBO special I covered AIDS, disability, bestiality, rape, racism and famine," Gervais says. "This second special is a little darker."
HBO also has a second season of the animated "Ricky Gervais Show" on its schedule for next year.
- A documentary about Bruce Springsteen's followup to "Born to Run" will debut on HBO in October.
"The Promise: The Making of 'Darkness on the Edge of Town'" will premiere Oct. 7. The film chronicles Springsteen and the E Street Band during the recording and shaping of the album, the first album after his breakout hit "Born to Run."
Springsteen and Thom Zimny,...
- 8/8/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Precious Ramotswe, the owner and proprietor of Botswana’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, is back in Alexander McCall Smith’s latest novel, The Double Comfort Safari Club. It is marked, as is the entire series of novels and the HBO series, by the pervasive light-hearted and genial nature of literature’s most famous “traditionally built,” woman, Mma [...] No related posts.
- 5/6/2010
- by Professor Crazy
- Boomtron
Even though the word “detective” is in the series’ title, Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books feature very little detecting. The books are less interested in hardcore mystery solving and more interested in portraying the way the people in the small city of Gaborone, Botswana, take care of each other. Smith’s Botswana is a place of gentle kindness and people with warm feelings toward each other, and while his books are low on incident, they’re high on scenes that make readers want to spend time in his fictional universe. Unfortunately, the latest in the ...
- 5/6/2010
- avclub.com
ABC's "Modern Family," Fox's "Glee," HBO's "In Treatment" as well as Kermit the Frog and Craig Ferguson were among the 36 recipients of Peabody Awards unveiled this morning by the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The winners, chosen by the Peabody board as the best in electronic media for 2009, were named in a ceremony in the Peabody Gallery on the University of Georgia Campus.
The latest Peabody winners reflect great diversity in genre, sources of origination and content. The recipients included the aforementioned "Modern Family," ABC's droll, perceptive comedy about a multicultural extended family; HBO's "Thrilla in Manila," a doc that probes the hype, mythology and meaning of the politically charged Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fights in the early 1970s; and "The Great Textbook War," a fair, balanced radio doc from West Virginia Public Broadcasting about a 1974 skirmish that presaged "cultural wars" still raging in America.
The latest Peabody winners reflect great diversity in genre, sources of origination and content. The recipients included the aforementioned "Modern Family," ABC's droll, perceptive comedy about a multicultural extended family; HBO's "Thrilla in Manila," a doc that probes the hype, mythology and meaning of the politically charged Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fights in the early 1970s; and "The Great Textbook War," a fair, balanced radio doc from West Virginia Public Broadcasting about a 1974 skirmish that presaged "cultural wars" still raging in America.
- 3/31/2010
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This time of year is so hard to fit reading in. Usually I sneak time during breakfast or lunch, but lunch hours are now taken up with mad dashes to the post office or Target. Or maybe a quick nap!
I did manage to get in La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith. I'm a big fan of his other series, the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, but this one is unrelated to that or any of his other series. It takes place in the British countryside during World War II and focuses on a woman, La, who moves to the countryside after husband has left her for another woman. Yes, her name is "La" - short for "Lavender."
Smith's subtle writing works well in his No. 1 series, but the setting in those novels really fleshes out the atmosphere. La's was blah. And it's a shame, because government suspicion...
I did manage to get in La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith. I'm a big fan of his other series, the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, but this one is unrelated to that or any of his other series. It takes place in the British countryside during World War II and focuses on a woman, La, who moves to the countryside after husband has left her for another woman. Yes, her name is "La" - short for "Lavender."
Smith's subtle writing works well in his No. 1 series, but the setting in those novels really fleshes out the atmosphere. La's was blah. And it's a shame, because government suspicion...
- 1/15/2010
- by Dustin Rowles
The ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards are coming up, and to promote the event we have 5 DVDs and a £10 Amazon gift card up for grabs.
All you have to do is head over to the ITV3 page here and cast your vote.
The Crime Thriller Awards is a ceremony celebrating the best of crime thriller fiction. This year it’ll take place on 21st October and be broadcast by ITV3 later in the month as the culmination of a six-week season of crime and drama programming.
The Bestseller shortlist consists of -
- Harlan Coben
- Alexander McCall Smith
- Martina Cole
- Dick Francis
- Nicci French
(click name for more details)
5 lucky readers will receive a copy of the excellent Tell No One (93% Rotten Tomatoes) on DVD. It’s the award winning adaptation of Harlan Coben’s thriller, about a doctor who sees his wife murdered only to receive...
All you have to do is head over to the ITV3 page here and cast your vote.
The Crime Thriller Awards is a ceremony celebrating the best of crime thriller fiction. This year it’ll take place on 21st October and be broadcast by ITV3 later in the month as the culmination of a six-week season of crime and drama programming.
The Bestseller shortlist consists of -
- Harlan Coben
- Alexander McCall Smith
- Martina Cole
- Dick Francis
- Nicci French
(click name for more details)
5 lucky readers will receive a copy of the excellent Tell No One (93% Rotten Tomatoes) on DVD. It’s the award winning adaptation of Harlan Coben’s thriller, about a doctor who sees his wife murdered only to receive...
- 10/9/2009
- by Sheridan Passell
- Movie-moron.com
DVD Playhouse—September 2009
By
Allen Gardner
The Human Condition (Criterion) Masaki Kobayashi’s epic (574 minutes) adaptation of Junpei Gomikawa’s six-volume novel was originally made and released as three separate films (1959-61), and is rightfully regarded as a landmark of Japanese cinema. Candide-like story of naïve, good-hearted Kaiji (Japanese superstar Tatsuya Nakadai) from labor camp supervisor, to Imperial Army solider, to Soviet Pow, and Kaiji’s struggle to maintain his humanity throughout. Unfolds with the mastery of a great novel, beautifully-shot, and a stunning example of cinematic mastery on the part of its makers. Four-disc set bonuses include: Interview with Kobayashi; Interview with Nakadai; Featurette; Trailer; Essay by critic Philip Kemp. Widescreen. Dolby 3.0 surround.
State Of Play (Universal) Russell Crowe stars as a veteran Washington D.C. political reporter investigating the murder of an aide to a rising congressional star (Ben Affleck), who also happens to be an old friend.
By
Allen Gardner
The Human Condition (Criterion) Masaki Kobayashi’s epic (574 minutes) adaptation of Junpei Gomikawa’s six-volume novel was originally made and released as three separate films (1959-61), and is rightfully regarded as a landmark of Japanese cinema. Candide-like story of naïve, good-hearted Kaiji (Japanese superstar Tatsuya Nakadai) from labor camp supervisor, to Imperial Army solider, to Soviet Pow, and Kaiji’s struggle to maintain his humanity throughout. Unfolds with the mastery of a great novel, beautifully-shot, and a stunning example of cinematic mastery on the part of its makers. Four-disc set bonuses include: Interview with Kobayashi; Interview with Nakadai; Featurette; Trailer; Essay by critic Philip Kemp. Widescreen. Dolby 3.0 surround.
State Of Play (Universal) Russell Crowe stars as a veteran Washington D.C. political reporter investigating the murder of an aide to a rising congressional star (Ben Affleck), who also happens to be an old friend.
- 9/26/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
It seems like theres an iPhone application for everything nowadays and now theres even an official Twilight iPhone application! According to MediaPost Publications a Twilight iPhone application was released today complete with ereader versions of the books. Read below for more detailsnbspLittle Brown Book Group announced Monday that Stephanie Meyers wildly popular Twilight vampire saga will be released as an iPhone App with ereader versions of the books for the smarphone. The app is being created in partnership with ScrollMotion creators of the Iceberg Reader and will be available beginning June 29.Weve seen tremendous demand for Stephenie Meyers books on the iPhone in the Us and were thrilled to be working with Hachette UK to distribute her bestselling titles internationally said Calvin Baker ScrollMotion Chief Content Officer. ScrollMotion has also worked with companies such as CondNast Tribune Company and Lifetime Television.ScrollMotion and Little Brown are in the initial stages...
- 6/30/2009
- twilightersanonymous.com
The No. Ladies' Detective Agency is to television as The Secret Life of Bees is to literature: it's palatable, and great for a beach vacation, but ultimately not stimulating enough to stick in your memory. The six-episode series, which ran first on the BBC and then on HBO, is based on Alexander McCall Smith's ten-novel series of the same name. Precious Ramotswe (Jill Scott) moves to Gaborone, Botswana's capital, to open the country's first-ever female-run detective agency. The show winds through Precious's detective cases -- which range from spying on a client's wife to investigating a stolen car -- and her relationships with her assistant, Grace Makutsi (Anika Noni Rose) and her suitor, mechanic Jlb Matekoni (Lucian Msamati). The series is pleasant to watch. It features a beautiful Botswana landscape and lilting music and accents. But the combined effect was as...
- 5/1/2009
- by Jessica Gross
- Huffington Post
R&B singer and actress Jill Scott and her fiancé, drummer Lil John Roberts, have welcomed their first child, a boy, her manager confirms to People. Jett Hamilton Roberts was born at 4:20 p.m. on April 20. He weighed in at 7 lbs., 8 oz. Scott, who stars on HBO's new series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, based on the popular novels by Alexander McCall Smith, discovered she was pregnant shortly before leaving for Botswana to film the show. "At one point I was trying to gain weight for the role, and I noticed I had put on 7 lbs. in 7 days.
- 4/22/2009
- by Tiffany McGee and Jessica Herndon
- PEOPLE.com
Yet another Precious milestone for Jill Scott. The R&B songstress and fiancé Lil' John Roberts welcomed their first child together Monday, son Jett Hamilton Roberts. Jett was born at 4:20 p.m. (on 4-20, incidentally) and entered this world weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces. Scott, who's currently earning rave reviews for her role as Botswanan detective Precious Ramotswe in HBO's adaptation of novelist Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, revealed that she was expecting during the Television Critics Association convention in January. "The first trimester I spent in Botswana," the three-time Grammy winner said. Having been unable to...
- 4/22/2009
- E! Online
Heard novelist Alexander McCall Smith play in his beloved Really Terrible Orchestra at Town Hall Wednesday night, and all I can say is there is absolutely no danger they'll get good any time soon. I know he was relieved to hear this. It is an orchestra for people without talent, and so far, they're all keepers. The Really Terrible Orchestrea, or Rto, continues to live up to its mission of "inclusiveness," meaning you get to play with them just so long as no one else will include you. There were approximately 1,400 of us in the audience, and I may have been the only one not wearing plaid, because it was a benefit for a children's orchestra fund and the Tartan Society. The crowd outside, the ones not playing the bagpipes, included one person who told me tickets,...
- 4/4/2009
- by Vickie Karp
- Huffington Post
A TV series based in Africa is premiering this weekend on a premium cable television channel that isn't inundated with images of poverty and corruption. Botswana has become the beautiful backdrop for a new HBO series premiering this Sunday, March 29th. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, an HBO TV series based on the bestselling books by Alexander McCall Smith features the adventures of Mma Precious Ramotswe, played by singer/actress Jill Scott. Scott plays a determined woman who leaves her abusive husband and opens up Botswana's first female-headed detective agency in Gaborone, Botswana's capital city. Anika Noni Rose, Lucian Msamati, and Desmond Dube also star. The pilot was scripted by Richard Curtis and the late Anthony Minghella. "I think this batch of extraordinary characters is really what appeals to everybody. Over the course of the series you'll see these...
- 3/27/2009
- by Lola Olley
- Huffington Post
The opening moments of “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” (7 p.m. Central Sunday, HBO, two stars) contains some of the most gorgeous imagery you’re likely to see on television this year. As the camera swoops over an African landscape, animals roam and flock; majestic serenity pervades the scene. Those opening minutes certainly made me dream of taking a vacation in Botswana. What follows is a faithful adaptation of the debut novel in Alexander McCall Smith’s series of popular novels about the first female private detective in Botswana. But perhaps the adaptation is too faithful. What comes across as charmingly...
- 3/26/2009
- by Tempo
- The Watcher
Photo (l to r): Actor Jill Scott, the late director Anthony Minghella, producer Amy Moore, and novelist Alexander McCall Smith on location. Photo courtesy of HBO. I confess. I never thought about how they teach law in Botswana until I met Alexander McCall Smith, the best-selling novelist of a series of books about Precious Ramotswe, the number one fictional lady detective in that beautiful sub-Saharan country. But McCall Smith's novels have less to do with law than they have to do with justice and well, women's intuition. A prolific writer of more than 50 books, he's co-authored a text on Botswana criminal law, written children's books with names like The Perfect Hamburger , and is now the best-selling author of several series of novels including The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Just listen...
- 3/25/2009
- by Vickie Karp
- Huffington Post
For All Of Us (Ianto) Jonesing For Some Torchwood Action
This is a big week for Torchwood fans.
The new Torchwood comic, “Captain Jack and the Selkie,” is finally being published in the U.S. Anticipation for this comic is particularly high, since it’s co-written by Captain Jack’s alter ego, John Barrowman, himself, along with his sister Carole (and I’ve got a terrific Q&A with Carole you’ll get to see in just a few).
Ordinarily, the publication of a comic might seem like small potatoes in the world of entertainment. But Torchwood fans have been craving any and all new Torchwood material for months. It’s been almost a year since the tearjerker Season Two finale aired in the U.S., and ever since, the blogosphere has been rampant with anxious speculation about Season Three. Sci-fi fans are such a bunch of nervous nellies about...
This is a big week for Torchwood fans.
The new Torchwood comic, “Captain Jack and the Selkie,” is finally being published in the U.S. Anticipation for this comic is particularly high, since it’s co-written by Captain Jack’s alter ego, John Barrowman, himself, along with his sister Carole (and I’ve got a terrific Q&A with Carole you’ll get to see in just a few).
Ordinarily, the publication of a comic might seem like small potatoes in the world of entertainment. But Torchwood fans have been craving any and all new Torchwood material for months. It’s been almost a year since the tearjerker Season Two finale aired in the U.S., and ever since, the blogosphere has been rampant with anxious speculation about Season Three. Sci-fi fans are such a bunch of nervous nellies about...
- 3/20/2009
- by dennis
- The Backlot
Jill Scott is pregnant with her first child, the R&B singer and actress revealed to reporters at the Television Critics Association conference in Los Angeles on Friday. Promoting her new HBO series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, based on the popular novels by Alexander McCall Smith, Scott said she discovered that she was pregnant just before leaving for Botswana where she filmed the show. "The first trimester I spent in Botswana," said the star, who is due April 25. "That was one of the biggest challenges of my life. First trimester! You're sick every morning. It was seven hours time difference,...
- 1/9/2009
- by Lisa Ingrassia
- PEOPLE.com
LONDON -- More than 6 million viewers tuned in to Anthony Minghella's final television project, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, when it aired Easter Sunday on BBC1.
Agency, which attracted 6.3 million viewers and a 27% share of the audience in its 9 p.m. slot, next airs as a backdoor pilot on HBO.
Before Minghella's death last week, the U.S. cable network ordered 13 episodes of the potential series from the Weinstein Co. Whether the project will move forward as a series without the director's participation remains up in the air.
The decision to maintain the Easter airdate for the 105-minute film, co-written with Richard Curtis and based on the book series by Alexander McCall Smith, was supported by Minghella's family.
Starring R&B singer Jill Scott, the drama centers on Precious Ramotswe, who sets up Botswana's first all-ladies detective agency after the death of her father.
The broadcast attracted almost twice the viewing of the nearest competitor, the ITV1 crime thriller He Kills Coppers, which attracted 3.8 million viewers and a 15% audience share.
Agency, which attracted 6.3 million viewers and a 27% share of the audience in its 9 p.m. slot, next airs as a backdoor pilot on HBO.
Before Minghella's death last week, the U.S. cable network ordered 13 episodes of the potential series from the Weinstein Co. Whether the project will move forward as a series without the director's participation remains up in the air.
The decision to maintain the Easter airdate for the 105-minute film, co-written with Richard Curtis and based on the book series by Alexander McCall Smith, was supported by Minghella's family.
Starring R&B singer Jill Scott, the drama centers on Precious Ramotswe, who sets up Botswana's first all-ladies detective agency after the death of her father.
The broadcast attracted almost twice the viewing of the nearest competitor, the ITV1 crime thriller He Kills Coppers, which attracted 3.8 million viewers and a 15% audience share.
- 3/25/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Soul star-turned-actress Jill Scott was left speechless after her first meeting with author of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series Alexander McCall Smith - because she didn't expect the writer to be white.
Scott landed the role of heroine Precious Ramotswe in the Anthony Minghella-directed TV film last year, a movie which follows the fortunes of the only female-owned detective agency in the African nation of Botswana.
And the 35-year-old star admits she was stunned when she realised the author of the books the movie is based on wasn't a black African.
She says, "I really couldn't believe it when I met him, I was so shocked.
"I thanked him for being such a great writer, for being able to capture the soul of a place so completely."
McCall Smith was born and bred in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and spent years working as a teacher in Botswana, but has since relocated to Edinburgh, Scotland to teach law.
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency is now set to be made into a 13-show series this summer after the success of the TV movie.
Scott landed the role of heroine Precious Ramotswe in the Anthony Minghella-directed TV film last year, a movie which follows the fortunes of the only female-owned detective agency in the African nation of Botswana.
And the 35-year-old star admits she was stunned when she realised the author of the books the movie is based on wasn't a black African.
She says, "I really couldn't believe it when I met him, I was so shocked.
"I thanked him for being such a great writer, for being able to capture the soul of a place so completely."
McCall Smith was born and bred in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and spent years working as a teacher in Botswana, but has since relocated to Edinburgh, Scotland to teach law.
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency is now set to be made into a 13-show series this summer after the success of the TV movie.
- 3/24/2008
- WENN
Singer/actress Jill Scott is devastated at the unexpected death of director Anthony Minghella.
The British filmmaker, who the won Best Director Oscar for his 1996 movie The English Patient, died from complications following surgery for cancer of the tonsils and neck at London's Charing Cross Hospital last Tuesday. He was 54 years old.
Scott worked with Minghella on the critically acclaimed TV movie The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, a small-screen adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's books, and she admits she was left deeply saddened at the news of the director's passing.
She says, "My heart aches with grief. Words cannot express how deeply he will be missed or how deeply he was loved."
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency was Minghella's final project before his untimely death.
The British filmmaker, who the won Best Director Oscar for his 1996 movie The English Patient, died from complications following surgery for cancer of the tonsils and neck at London's Charing Cross Hospital last Tuesday. He was 54 years old.
Scott worked with Minghella on the critically acclaimed TV movie The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, a small-screen adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's books, and she admits she was left deeply saddened at the news of the director's passing.
She says, "My heart aches with grief. Words cannot express how deeply he will be missed or how deeply he was loved."
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency was Minghella's final project before his untimely death.
- 3/23/2008
- WENN
- Add this to the 'dearly departed way too soon' column. The man who gave us film treasures as The English Patient, The Talented Mr Ripley and Truly Madly Deeply has died suddenly at the age of 54. Variety reports that the director died because he "suffered a brain hemorrhage" after "routine operation on his neck". In recent years, the British filmmaker gave us a pair of underwhelming directorial efforts in Cold Mountain (2003) Breaking and Entering (2006), but picked up the producer's hat back in 2001 with Tom Tykwer's Heaven and Catch A Fire. He was currently producing The Reader and had optioned properties (with Sydney Pollack at Mirage) I Don't Know How She Does It, The Silver Linings Playbook, The Amulet of Samarkand, The Ninth Life of Louis Drax (a film which he was looking to direct as well) and finally a possible remake for The Lives of Others. He had
- 3/18/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
Singer/actress Jill Scott is to become a regular on U.S. TV after show producers decided to turn her small screen movie The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency into a series.
The soul diva was asked to take on the role after starring as lead heroine Precious Ramotswe in the Anthony Minghella-directed TV film last year, which aired on U.S. cable channel HBO.
The film and forthcoming 13-episode series has been adapted from Alexander McCall Smith's books, which follow the fortunes of the only female-owned detective agency in the African nation of Botswana.
Dreamgirls star Anika Noni Rose will also reprise her role in the TV movie for the new series.
The show will be screened by HBO in the U.S. and Canada, while the Bbc will distribute the show in the U.K.
The soul diva was asked to take on the role after starring as lead heroine Precious Ramotswe in the Anthony Minghella-directed TV film last year, which aired on U.S. cable channel HBO.
The film and forthcoming 13-episode series has been adapted from Alexander McCall Smith's books, which follow the fortunes of the only female-owned detective agency in the African nation of Botswana.
Dreamgirls star Anika Noni Rose will also reprise her role in the TV movie for the new series.
The show will be screened by HBO in the U.S. and Canada, while the Bbc will distribute the show in the U.K.
- 3/11/2008
- WENN
HBO has retained the services of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
It had been rumored for months that Anthony Minghella's adaptation of the best-selling books by Alexander McCall Smith could wind up as a TV series, though nothing was official until now.
HBO has partnered with the Weinstein Co. and the BBC on the drama series, ordering 13 hourlong episodes to begin filming in the summer. That's in addition to the two-hour pilot that Minghella recently shot in Botswana from a script he wrote with Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral).
HBO has obtained U.S. and Canadian television and home video rights, and the BBC
has taken U.K. television distribution. TWC, which controls all other international territories, is planning to take the project to MIP in April.
Agency stars Jill Scott as Precious Ramotswe, the proprietor of the only female-owned detective agency in Botswana. Anika Noni Rose plays her quirky secretary, Mma Makutsi, and Lucian Msamati stars as Ramotswe's devoted suitor, JLB Matekoni.
It had been rumored for months that Anthony Minghella's adaptation of the best-selling books by Alexander McCall Smith could wind up as a TV series, though nothing was official until now.
HBO has partnered with the Weinstein Co. and the BBC on the drama series, ordering 13 hourlong episodes to begin filming in the summer. That's in addition to the two-hour pilot that Minghella recently shot in Botswana from a script he wrote with Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral).
HBO has obtained U.S. and Canadian television and home video rights, and the BBC
has taken U.K. television distribution. TWC, which controls all other international territories, is planning to take the project to MIP in April.
Agency stars Jill Scott as Precious Ramotswe, the proprietor of the only female-owned detective agency in Botswana. Anika Noni Rose plays her quirky secretary, Mma Makutsi, and Lucian Msamati stars as Ramotswe's devoted suitor, JLB Matekoni.
- 3/10/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
HBO has retained the services of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency."
The pay cable network, in partnership with the BBC, has ordered 13 episodes from the Weinstein Co.'s adaptation of the books by Alexander McCall Smith, which is being shepherded by Oscar winner Anthony Minghella.
Kicking off the series will be the two-hour pilot Minghella recently shot in Botswana from a script he wrote with Richard Curtis.
Ever since the Weinstein Co. announced its plans in the summer to produce a two-hour TV movie based on the popular detective novels, the film had been envisioned as a backdoor pilot for a potential TV series.
The BBC will air the two-hour pilot as a stand-alone movie next month, while HBO will run it as an opening episode of the series, which is slated to begin production in the summer for a launch in the first quarter.
Minghella and Curtis, who got their start as TV writers in the U.K., will executive produce.
The pay cable network, in partnership with the BBC, has ordered 13 episodes from the Weinstein Co.'s adaptation of the books by Alexander McCall Smith, which is being shepherded by Oscar winner Anthony Minghella.
Kicking off the series will be the two-hour pilot Minghella recently shot in Botswana from a script he wrote with Richard Curtis.
Ever since the Weinstein Co. announced its plans in the summer to produce a two-hour TV movie based on the popular detective novels, the film had been envisioned as a backdoor pilot for a potential TV series.
The BBC will air the two-hour pilot as a stand-alone movie next month, while HBO will run it as an opening episode of the series, which is slated to begin production in the summer for a launch in the first quarter.
Minghella and Curtis, who got their start as TV writers in the U.K., will executive produce.
- 3/10/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
LONDON -- An adaptation of the best-selling novel series "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency," from Anthony Minghella and Richard Curtis, will serve as the showpiece of pubcaster BBC1's new winter schedule, acting channel controller Roly Keating said Tuesday.
Based on the best-selling novel series by Alexander McCall Smith, "Detective Agency" chronicles the adventures of Precious Ramotswe, the proprietor of the only female-owned detective agency in Botswana. It will star singer-actress Jill Scott as Precious and will be directed and written by Anthony Minghella and co-written by Richard Curtis.
"Filmed entirely on location in Botswana, it's an entertaining and optimistic story, offering a very different insight to Africa than we are used to seeing in the news," said Keating, who described the film as an "epic treat."
In another schedule highlight, "The Passion" will tell the story of Jesus Christ from three points of view and run over the course of a week, just before Easter. The project will be penned by Emmy winner Frank Deasy ("Prime Suspect 7") and developed by Nigel Stafford-Clark ("Bleak House)." It will star Joseph Mawle as Jesus and James Nesbitt as Pontius Pilate.
Based on the best-selling novel series by Alexander McCall Smith, "Detective Agency" chronicles the adventures of Precious Ramotswe, the proprietor of the only female-owned detective agency in Botswana. It will star singer-actress Jill Scott as Precious and will be directed and written by Anthony Minghella and co-written by Richard Curtis.
"Filmed entirely on location in Botswana, it's an entertaining and optimistic story, offering a very different insight to Africa than we are used to seeing in the news," said Keating, who described the film as an "epic treat."
In another schedule highlight, "The Passion" will tell the story of Jesus Christ from three points of view and run over the course of a week, just before Easter. The project will be penned by Emmy winner Frank Deasy ("Prime Suspect 7") and developed by Nigel Stafford-Clark ("Bleak House)." It will star Joseph Mawle as Jesus and James Nesbitt as Pontius Pilate.
- 12/5/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Dreamgirls co-star Anika Noni Rose has joined Jill Scott in Anthony Minghella's adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
Rose is set to play the role of Grace Makutsi, the secretary/assistant detective to Precious Ramotswe (Scott), who owns a Botswana-based detective agency run by women. Lucian Msamati also is set to play Ramotswe's fiancee in the film.
Agency is being produced by the Weinstein Co. and Mirage Prods., the production company run by Minghella and Sydney Pollack. Minghella is directing from a script he wrote with Richard Curtis.
It's likely that a TV series based on Agency will follow the movie, but no deals are in place.
Rose, a Tony winner in 2004 for her role in the Broadway musical Caroline, or Change, is on the small screen in USA Network's limited series The Starter Wife and next appears in the film One Part Sugar opposite Danny DeVito. She also recently signed on to voice Princess Tiana in the Walt Disney Co.'s musical animated feature The Princess and the Frog (HR 5/24).
Rose is set to play the role of Grace Makutsi, the secretary/assistant detective to Precious Ramotswe (Scott), who owns a Botswana-based detective agency run by women. Lucian Msamati also is set to play Ramotswe's fiancee in the film.
Agency is being produced by the Weinstein Co. and Mirage Prods., the production company run by Minghella and Sydney Pollack. Minghella is directing from a script he wrote with Richard Curtis.
It's likely that a TV series based on Agency will follow the movie, but no deals are in place.
Rose, a Tony winner in 2004 for her role in the Broadway musical Caroline, or Change, is on the small screen in USA Network's limited series The Starter Wife and next appears in the film One Part Sugar opposite Danny DeVito. She also recently signed on to voice Princess Tiana in the Walt Disney Co.'s musical animated feature The Princess and the Frog (HR 5/24).
- 6/25/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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